Dillon, who finished sixth while Hamlin was fifth, showed his displeasure by crowding Hamlin on pit road following the race. Hamlin responded by putting Dillon’s car in the wall and then making what could be considered quite a disrespectful comment.

“He got his ride because of his name,” Hamlin said.

Dillon is the grandson of team owner Richard Childress, whose daughter married former driver Mike Dillon.

“My last name is Dillon,” Austin Dillon said. “If you look back in the books, there isn't really anybody named Dillon that ran real well.

“My dad hit the wall a lot so I'm going to blame it on him. But no … That's a good comment for him (Hamlin) if he wants to think that way. I’ll take the high road.”

Hamlin said that Dillon has a history of not giving anyone room and that’s why Dillon has gotten into wrecks earlier this year.

“If he’s points racing, you can’t crowd a guy that’s running (just to win),” Hamlin said. “I’m on the bottom. I’m all the way to the apron.

“I’m doing everything I can and after the checkered flag he wants to run into me? So I ran him into the fence.”

Dillon’s crew was angry with Hamlin after the race and surrounded him by his car but there was no altercation.

“(His crew chief) says, ‘Look, he ain’t got to fix it,’” Hamlin said. “Maybe (Dillon) needs to take his little (butt) over there and fix the racecar if he wants to keep wrecking.

“He needs to learn a lesson.”

Sitting third in the standings at 21 points behind leaders Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliott Sadler, Dillon said he needs to race hard for every spot.

“He put us four-wide and it wrecked (two other cars),” Dillon said. “I was just letting him know I wasn’t happy about it so we got into it after the race.”

Dillon said he and Hamlin have played basketball and golf together and he didn’t think they had a history of bad blood.

“With where we’re at in the points with (now two) races to go, I need to get everything I can get. I have nothing to lose right now,” Dillon said. “You don’t get these opportunities to race for a championship very often.

“Denny knows that, too. So I’m just trying to take as much of an advantage of it as I can.”

Hamlin wasn’t impressed and made a comment about Dillon driving the No. 3 made famous by seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. at RCR.

“After the checkered flag, he runs into me—I don’t know if he feels entitled by the number on his door to think he’s tough,” Hamlin said.

“If he’s going to start it, I’m going to finish it.”

Dillon’s response?

“I’m sure it would be all right,” Dillon said. “I’m running races next year, too. So I’ll still be here.”